Author Archives: Harry K. Jones

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Grilled Cheese?

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Seeing as how April is National Grilled Cheese Month, let’s see how creativity, innovation and “out-of-the-box thinking” can be applied to the most mundane of targets. By the way, mundane is not a bad thing. It simply means commonplace, and what’s more commonplace than a good ol’ grilled cheese sandwich?

Mention that family favorite to anyone and watch them melt as easily as the cheese they place between the bread. Try to find a family that doesn’t include this ultimate comfort food among their favorites. We all grew up on grilled cheese. I taught my three kids the magic touch of adding just enough peanut butter between two slices of cheese to add a terrifically unique treat for the taste buds.

I recently read an article online that many buffet chains across the country are including grilled cheese sandwiches among their many offerings. In fact, grilled cheese restaurants have been cropping up across the country for the past few years. That might have something to do with the fact that rising gas prices have forced us to watch our budgets but, more than likely, I think many entrepreneurs have discovered the potential of this unconventional approach to family dining.

The entire country seems to be catching on to this delicacy as restaurants proudly promote their own creative take on this ageless classic.

The Lockview restaurant of Akron, Ohio, offers nine different versions of a grilled cheese sandwich, from mozzarella with roasted red peppers and Portobello mushrooms, to smoked cheddar with apple slices and bacon on pretzel bread. There’s also the classic processed American on Texas toast.Chedd’s Gourmet Grilled Cheese Restaurant in Denver, boasting two locations and four years of experience, is planning to franchise in all 50 states. Their Wisconsin-themed grilled-cheese joint, with its 35 cheeses, 12 breads and various meats and vegetables, has developed quite a following in the Mile High City.

meltDOWN etc., the Culver City, California lunchtime shrine to the grilled cheese, has elevated their menu to meet the critical demands of those on the left coast. The menu (now eat-in only, but available for delivery soon) features simple side salads, soups, and a plethora of gooey glory, including:

  • The 3-cheese: A curdy trifecta of Cheddar, Muenster, and Fontina; recommended options include smoked ham and applewood bacon.
  • Brie and Apricot: Eating this walnut-breaded sandwich is like gorging on a gourmet cheese plate.
  • The Cleo: A bulging, breakfasty sandwich with dill-chive cream cheese, smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, and caramelized onions.
  • However, the true classic is Meltdown’s one off-menu item, the timeless white-bread/American-cheese melt.

The examples go on and on … from coast to coast. Dedicated connoisseurs have focused on creative ways to REFRAME an age-old, commonplace classic that will allow us to enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich well into senility. Think about that fact the next time you’re dealing with a challenge that you feel can’t be dealt with by applying creativity, innovation, or old fashioned “out-of-the-box thinking”!

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Strategy for Challenging Economic Times

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“In tough economic times, you must cut advertising, reduce marketing, and decrease or even eliminate training to reduce expenses.”

I was going to say that the above strategy has emerged as a growing trend in many industries. That would be inaccurate. It’s almost become an axiom for many organizations. (AXIOM: In traditional logic, an axiom is a proposition that is not proved or demonstrated but considered to be self-evident. Therefore, its truth is taken for granted and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring other truths.)

I must admit it’s a somewhat uncomplicated strategy and takes little or no effort to execute. It does appear to produce immediate savings at first glance but has produced very little evidence of success as a long-term strategy.

In fact, many studies have produced results contradicting this long-time belief. Consistently, successful organizations across industries have actually increased their focus and investment in advertising, marketing, and training as economic pressures increased.

Considering today’s very competitive global marketplace and the many growing challenges we must deal with during this election year, what would you be willing to pay if you knew you could:

  • increase productivity
  • increase profitability
  • increase employee satisfaction
  • improve internal customer service
  • improve external customer service
  • increase sales and service levels
  • reduce the number of customer complaints
  • increase employee feedback
  • reduce absenteeism
  • decrease the need for supervision
  • boost personal confidence and job satisfaction
  • increase creativity and innovation levels
  • cause employees to feel valued, appreciated and committed to your business with everyone in your organization on the same page at the same time utilizing corporate strategies to achieve organizational goals.

All of the above results can be classified as ROI (Return on Investment) or ROL (Return on Learning). Research reveals that proper staff training, at every level, can achieve all of the above. You must first realize that there is no cost involved. It’s obviously an investment … in your people, your organization, and your future success.

We have discovered, time and time again, that successful organizations simply share the same message of strategy and direction with every level of the organization.

A recent Franklin-Covey survey discovered that most employees who leave their job cite the lack of skills training and development as the number one reason they decide to move on. No way to learn, no reason to stay. It’s that simple.

Which brings us back to the main point: employee training and development is vital to your business success. It increases your bottom line—and reduces staff turnover.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

President Oprah?

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As you may or may not know, Midnight Muses focuses on a variety of subject matter which evolves from the innermost recesses of my mind during the most productive time of my day.
It’s going on 1 a.m., and my mind is in full gear pondering much of the political news with which I’ve been recently inundated.

Wait — don’t jump ship. I’m as fed up with politics 24/7 as much as you are, and I’m certainly not looking forward to seven more months of the same before election day. However, I can’t help but recognize the many correlations between politics and business as well as a unique opportunity to gain some very valuable insight.

One of the most obvious similarities lies in the importance of customer service and satisfaction — a concept I seldom, if ever, have heard mentioned in the political arena. Yet both parties are currently running on the premise that customers (voters) from coast to coast are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with their current level of service. Neither party seems to be able to conceptualize that simple reality.

If I were a political consultant today, I think I’d feel obligated to recommend that my candidate take a short time out to analyze the life and philosophy of the woman many leading publications and media notables have recognized as “one of the most influential people of the 20th century,” Oprah Winfrey! She’s the multiple-Emmy-Award-winning host of the highest rated talk show in television history, an influential book critic, an Academy-Award winning actress, a magazine publisher, a book club creator, the creator of a new radio channel on XM Satellite Radio, a spiritual icon, a philanthropist, a TV and movie producer, and an online guru. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century, the most philanthropic African American of all time and the world’s only black billionaire for three straight years. Oprah co-founded the women’s cable television network, Oxygen, and is also the President of Harpo Productions (Oprah spelled backwards).

While all of this is indeed very admirable, why should a politician have the slightest interest in Oprah? Well, they shouldn’t … unless or until they realize the fact that this woman came from tremendously humble beginnings and reached heights of unequaled accomplishments in a wide variety of endeavors.

Her secrets are many but a few of the most critical are somewhat obvious and should be replicated by anyone with aspirations of attaining the presidency.

  1. She has the uncanny ability to know what her customers (readers, viewers, listeners, etc.) want, and she strives to surround herself with the expertise to produce what they want. She listens and responds appropriately. Kind of unique in political circles, wouldn’t you say?
  2. She makes as many, if not more, mistakes than most in her efforts to attain success and growth. Those many mistakes, while debatable by many, have been documented and analyzed ad naseum.

Some of the more prominent miscalculations might include:

  • The support and promotion of Dr. Phil.
  • The promotion of many Scientology celebs.
  • The support and promotion of several dishonest authors.
  • Rachael Ray overkill.
  • Support of a children’s book written by a white supremacist.
  • Allegations against a staff member of her South African all-girl academy.
  • Her You Tube Channel.
  • Her strong endorsement of the controversial self-help program, “The Secret.”
  • Hip-Hop Town Hall Meeting.
  • And the list goes on …

The key factor here, that often goes unnoticed, lies in her strategy and willingness to put herself “out there” in order to make a difference. She makes choices. She takes calculated chances. She believes in the importance and benefits of action. A quick glance at her track record would lead one to believe that she’s a firm believer in the age-old adage that “It’s not what happens to you in life — it’s how you react to it that matters!”

While many would disagree that everything listed above was a miscalculation, most everyone admires Oprah’s choice of response to such situations. She faces the facts, evaluates the circumstances and consequences, takes the appropriate action to rectify the problems, learns from the experience and moves on better equipped for her next task. What a concept! Wouldn’t that be a fantastic strategy for each and every politician vacillating within the beltway in Washington, D.C.?

Last month Barack Obama appeared live on the David Letterman Show to deliver Dave’s Top Ten. The category was “Top Ten Barack Obama Campaign Promises.” The 10th Promise got the most laughs as he smiled into the camera and said: “#10. “Three Words. Vice President Oprah!” It received a tremendous response from the audience and was obviously a stroke of comedic genius. However, I wouldn’t be afraid to bet just about anything that if Oprah were to join Obama, or just about any other candidate on a ticket, they would win by a landslide! And it wouldn’t be because she’s politically astute. It’s because she can assess needs, create excitement, encourage involvement, creatively visualize, and make things happen … indeed a successful combination which voters are hungry to experience.

Laugh and scoff if you will, but think about it for a minute. Oprah has no experience whatsoever in politics. There’s no question there. Where she excels, and has proven it many times in the past, is in the areas of leadership, gaining commitment, earning respect, developing productive teams of loyal devotees, demonstrating creativity, taking action, and accomplishing feats that others only dream of. Can she rally the masses, be they military, allies, citizens, or politicians? As reported on the front page of USA Today, Oprah conducted session #1 of a ten week web seminar based on the best selling book A New Earth. Co-hosting this ambitious undertaking with the book’s author, Eckhart Tolle, Oprah has thus far registered over 700,000 for this ground-breaking event!

Now quickly take a roll call of every politician you can think of, past or present, from either side of the aisle. Name one that has demonstrated the attributes, strengths, capabilities, and potential listed above. Go ahead, take a minute.

Any politician at any level would benefit greatly from simply observing and then emulating this classic leader. Maybe she should consider running alone.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Little-known Facts about Well-known Businesses – Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation

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Culture Is Contagious

I recently returned from facilitating my second annual Leadership Boot Camp at Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation (CFSC) in Nashville, Tennessee. CFSC is the financial arm of Caterpillar Inc., a Fortune 50 company, a technology leader and the world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, natural gas and diesel engines, and industrial gas turbines.

Living in Michigan, it’s always nice to be able to head south to a warmer, snow-less climate during the icy month of February … except this year. I arrived on the same day the Music City received their first snowfall of the year — all day long! At least it made me feel at home as I always do when I share time with the good folks at Caterpillar Financial.

During my four-day stay, I was again constantly reminded how pleasurable and also unique it is to be able to work in a very positive environment … generated, of course, by a rich, enduring culture. I must assume that the majority of those who work there might take this privilege for granted. I say that only because everyone in the building acts as though this unconventional environment is a natural thing experienced by all organizations everywhere. Little do they know.

On the surface, this business doesn’t look any different than any other. They boast an exquisite 11-story, 312,000-square foot building as the world headquarters for Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation. This eye-catching structure is situated across the street from Vanderbilt University and just a few blocks away from Nashville’s treasured Music Row.

At the entrance, a paved-stone circle drive surrounds a red granite-clad fountain pool containing a fountain sculpted by a California artist. The backdrop for this fountain is the revolving building entrance door with a canopy in the shape of a bulldozer scoop, which recalls Caterpillar’s origins as a heavy equipment manufacturer.

Entering the decorative two-story granite-clad lobby, you find a fully restored 1930 Caterpillar tractor prominently displayed in a place of honor. Stand under a state-of-the-art technically transparent umbrella apparatus, and you can hear the history of the tractor as well as the organization.

The building includes an on-site, fully staffed, state-of-the-art fitness center with locker rooms and an aerobics room. The 7-story concrete-frame underground parking garage can accommodate 1,200 cars. The fantastic all-purpose dining room offers employees just about anything they might want for breakfast and lunch daily, and a gift shop offers a nice variety of Caterpillar souvenirs and trade-marked merchandise.

Their training facility offers an environment for just about any type of training you might envision, and I’m almost certain their experienced technical support staff hides outside every room entrance waiting to address your every need. However, two years running I’ve had no need to call on them for assistance. Regardless, they check in regularly to see if all is well.

By the way, at a time when most organizations feel totally justified in reducing their training schedules for a myriad of reasons … every classroom, large and small, was filled with attendees from all over the world. My program was graced with employees from Australia, Japan, Germany, the U.K., China and, of course, many states within the U.S. The opportunity to network was easily as valuable as any program content. Those classrooms were filled with enthusiastic, focused employees because CFSC views employee development not as a cost but as a critical investment. Evidence of that view can be found in their ROL (Return on Learning) practices. Again, evidence of a unique culture.

It was quite obvious to me, whether they noticed it or not, that everyone enjoyed being there. Everyone wore a smile as they greeted each other in the cafeteria, in elevators, every level of the parking garage, in hallways and classrooms — everywhere. During my recent stay, I had 14 people from last year’s program stop by my training room to say “hi” and wish me well.

From what I’ve been told, what I’ve witnessed and what I’ve researched about CFSC, it’s quite obvious that they have a sincere and dedicated focus on “excellence.” They speak often of their “never-ending journey to excellence.” It was decided early on that excellence was going to define company culture and be its guiding principle.

Their business model integrates excellence into its vision, mission, critical success factors, and Values in Action. That’s as it should be — but seldom is in so many organizations.

Caterpillar Financial maintains a constant focus on process improvement. Tools such as 6 Sigma, a highly disciplined, data-based methodology, helps them prioritize and manage projects, design products, and improve processes. Ninety-seven percent of employees are trained in 6 Sigma procedures for designing new processes!

Specially trained employees called Black Belts, experts in the 6 Sigma process and team facilitation; Green Belts, subject matter experts; and Yellow Belts, trained in basics of 6 Sigma, comprise teams of employees that implement these procedures.

Since 1993, CFSC also has been using the Baldrige performance excellence criteria as the overall framework to assess the organization and guide improvement efforts.

Investment in employee recognition programs, such as Eye-on-Quality Awards and CAT Bucks — which allow employees to instantly recognize other employees — increases annually.

They also recognize employees with incentive pay, which is paid quarterly and directly aligned with company goals. This, of course, certainly goes a long way in helping them meet their strategic goal of attracting and retaining skilled employees.

The overall Employee Satisfaction Index has risen consistently and employee retention is following that trend as well. Ninety three percent of employees participate in the Caterpillar Healthy Balance program, which earned a national C. Everett Koop Award for Wellness Promotion and the Wellness Councils of America “Well-Workplace Award.”

The majority of what I’ve shared above is known and spoken in most of today’s competitive organizations across industries. There’s little or nothing new here. The difference I discovered, appreciated and greatly respected is that it’s not only spoken at Caterpillar Financial … it’s supported, practiced, and continually growing in this unique culture!

It’s a rare pleasure and privilege to witness this vibrant culture placing smiles on the faces of so many employees. However, don’t let me mislead you. They have their problems and challenges as so many other organizations do. We discussed several of them during our Leadership Boot Camp program. The difference I found lies in the fact that they view these speed bumps and barriers as opportunities and treat them as such. That makes the difference.

The crowning touch to my most recent visit was a very pleasant surprise indeed. At the close of the program, I was approached by a Black Belt participant who presented me with a “CAT Buck” for what he explained was his appreciation of my performance during the Leadership Boot Camp. I’m proud to say that I have since laminated and framed that special token, and it is currently hanging in a very honored spot on the wall of my office!

I’m scheduled to return to Nashville in August of this year for another Leadership Boot Camp, and I’m certainly looking forward to sharing that environment, working within that powerful culture and especially seeing those enthusiastic smiles!

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Got an Idea? Passionately Pursue It!

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As I look back over my life, I must admit that I’ve had more than my share of ideas. I would venture to guess that I’ve had more ideas than the average person. I can attribute that to a number of unusual reasons. I’m pretty confident that I can hold my own with just about anyone when it comes to the quantity of ideas I’ve generated. Quality? That’s another story altogether! Over the years, I’ve come up with some pretty successful ideas. I’ve had many more that were somewhat average and, of course, and I’ve lost count of those that were left on the cutting-room floor.

As I reminisce, my greatest regret lies in the fact that I pursued far too few of those ideas. I’ve allowed conventional wisdom, popular opinion, and majority thinking to deter my pursuit. I’ve been intimidated and/or disheartened by those with more experience, more education or more authority. If I had the tremendous blessing of a “do-over,” I wouldn’t relinquish anywhere near the number of ideas that I have in the past. I wouldn’t permit others to disillusion or deter my efforts.

I fully realize such strategy wouldn’t necessarily guarantee success but I am confident that it would enhance my chances many times over. I can do little or nothing to obtain that “do-over” so I’m not going to don my “Monday morning quarterback” attire to protect myself from self-pity and regret. However, I can certainly resolve to be more persistent and diligent as I pursue any future ideas I may generate.

We’re surrounded by many examples of those who were focused, disciplined, and determined to pursue their vision, dreams or ideas. I’ve found increased inspiration in recalling some of the many mentors who have taken action to reach their goals. It would have been helpful to be exposed to these lessons much earlier in my career. Consider sharing a few of the following examples with others who might benefit from the knowledge.

Ray Kroc’s Idea Led to McDonalds

Selling multi-mixer milkshake machines all over the country, Ray Kroc met brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1954. He was so enthralled with the concept and success of their innovative hamburger operation that he tried to convince them to build more locations nationwide. It was his hope to provide them with milkshake machines. They weren’t interested. A year later he purchased the name and concept, started franchising and built McDonalds into the most successful fast food operation in the entire world.

Pierre Omidyar’s Idea Led to eBay

Pierre was a developer services engineer fascinated by the technical challenges of online commerce. One evening over dinner his fiancé mentioned an old hobby: collecting and trading Pez candy dispensers. It fueled an idea he had to create an efficient marketplace online. For Pierre Omidyar, it started as an experiment, which became a hobby, which eventually became … eBay.

Fred Smith’s Idea Led to Federal Express

Fred Smith was disappointed in 1965 when his Yale professor gave him a “C” on his economics term paper detailing a new business idea. It was based on a very simple observation: he envisioned a unique hub-and-spoke delivery network to keep pace with the developing computer industry. Undeterred, Fred moved forward with his “dumb” idea. In 1973, Smith launched his “C”  idea as Federal Express using his own money. He established the company as the delivery service of choice for modern businesses.

Walt’s Idea Led to the Disney Empire

Walt was a misunderstood artist. The people at work laughed at his silly ideas. He was always in his own little world, fantasizing about his “strange” sketches. He lost his job. But he didn’t lose his dream. Unfazed, Walt went forward to create his magical world of … Disney which today include theme parks, movies, radio, television, cruise ships, resorts, music, toys, apparel, accessories, clothing, footwear, food, health and beauty, publishing, technology, etc.

Bill Gates’ Idea Led to Microsoft

At age 14, Gates formed a venture with Paul Allen, called Traf-O-Data, to make traffic counters based on the Intel 8008 processor. That first year he made $20,000. He enrolled at Harvard in the fall of 1973 intending to get a pre-law degree. Microsoft was started out of Bill’s dorm room where he wrote small software projects. He was so successful he eventually left without his degree.

Maxine Clark’s Idea Led to “Build-A-Bear”

Known as the “Chief Executive Bear,” Maxine Clark is the former President of Payless Shoes and the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, which she created in 1997. This teddy bear theme allows kids from age 3 to 103 to create their own personalized teddy bears, and other stuffed animals, from start to finish. The hands-on process allows the customer to pick the animal, stuff it, give it a heart and a name! Maxine says the idea for the store came to her while she was shopping for Beanie Babies with a 10-year-old friend. Today, there are more than 370 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide including the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Australia, and Africa.

Sam Walton’s Ideas Led to Wal-Mart

His early retail career began as a manager trainee for JCPenney and continued with the Ben Franklin organization. This experience led to Walton’s Five & Dime and finally Wal-Mart. Sam Walton’s many unique ideas in areas such as construction, purchasing, pricing, marketing, transportation, technology, etc. has led Wal-Mart to the proud title of the largest retail organization in the world, employing 1.9 million associates worldwide in more than 4,000 stores in the U.S. and more than 2,900 throughout the rest of the world.

Colonel Sanders’ Idea Led to KFC

Colonel Sanders started his business, Kentucky Fried Chicken, as a senior citizen. His social security checks weren’t enough to live on so he jumped in his Cadillac and drove around the country selling his “secret recipe” to small restaurants. The Colonel’s secret flavor recipe of 11 herbs and spices remains a trade secret. He perfected his method of cooking chicken. His idea has grown to become one of the largest quick service food service systems in the world with more than a billion “finger lickin’ good” Kentucky Fried Chicken dinners served annually in more than 80 countries and territories.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s Ideas Led to Google

Page and Brin, two 35-year-old billionaires, met in 1995 in a group of potential new students touring the Stanford campus. Legend has it that they were not terribly fond of each other when they first met. They soon found a common interest: retrieving relevant information from large data sets. Their initial idea was simply to create a search site that “didn’t suck.” They had three new ideas: index more of the Web, use links to rank search results, and have clean, simple web pages with unintrusive keyword-based ads. Google was first incorporated in 1998.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Factual March Madness

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Questions often arise at this time of the year as to whether true “March Madness” takes place on the nation’s round ball courts or rather in corporate cubicles and board rooms from coast to coast.

Consider the daily discussions of team selections and bracket comparisons. Now contemplate the actual number of hours which will be spent organizing, operating, and participating in the office pools surrounding each game and level of competition.

The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas says employers could see as much as $1.7 billion dollars in lost productivity over the next few weeks, as the tournament proceeds. The calculation includes estimates on participation in the pools, worker wages and the amount of work-time possibly spent on basketball-related activities. Some businesses are trying to limit the ability of workers to stream video on their work computers to keep their systems from seeing too much bandwidth wasted.

Under normal circumstances, $1.7 billion can obviously make a dramatic impact on the business environment. However, consider today’s critical economic status in most every industry and that $1.7 billion presents an even greater threat and “March Madness” takes on an all new meaning.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Flexibility, Negotiation, Compromise – Good Leadership Traits

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This story has been around for a very long time and really proves a point in a very humorous but realistic way. After a great deal of research, it was revealed that the story is not actually true. Nevertheless, it’s a great story, creates a fantastic punch-line visual, and makes a very important point.

It consists of an “alleged” transcript of an actual radio conversation between a U.S. naval ship and Canadian maritime contact off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995.

Americans: “Please divert your course 15 degrees North to avoid a collision.”

Canadians: “Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees South to avoid collision.”

Americans: “This is the captain of a U.S. navy ship; I say again divert your course.”

Canadians: “No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.”

Americans: “THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES’ ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH, THAT’S ONE FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER-MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.”

Canadians: “We are a lighthouse; your call.”

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Individual Creativity

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It’s intriguing how easy it is to find examples of creativity in our everyday lives. We’re surrounded by evident situations which have evolved from creative thinking; however, we, for some reason, simply neglect to recognize and/or acknowledge them.

Many examples are not necessarily related to business and/or organizations. You can find a great number of individuals who have demonstrated creativity in very unique ways. For instance:

William James Adams, Jr. is of Jamaican descent and is a very talented, highly revered, sought-after musician, songwriter and producer. He is also an American hip hop musician, songwriter and founding member and frontman of a Grammy award-winning American hip hop/pop group from Los Angeles who have sold an estimated 30 million albums and singles worldwide. Still don’t know William?

Before joining the famed musical group, William attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. In 2001, he began designing his own signature clothing line which made its official debut in 2005 at the Magic apparel trade show in Las Vegas. Still in the dark? Maybe this will help.

He was recently cast as John Wraith in the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a prequel to the X-Men film series.

In January 2008, this talented entertainer wrote a song, “Yes We Can,” in support of the 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign of Barack Obama, which in turn became a wildly popular music video. The lyrics of the song are composed almost entirely of excerpts from Obama’s speech following the New Hampshire presidential primary election. The video features appearances from numerous well-known celebrities.

He recently appeared as a guest on the very highly rated CBS prime-time television special “Celine Dion: That’s Just the Woman in Me.” He shared the stage with Grammy Award nominee Josh Groban and the five-time Grammy Award winner and multi-platinum recording artist Celine Dion. The program was taped before a live audience at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

On his own, William has established himself as one of music’s top producers. He has collaborated on tracks with Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Kelis, Nas, The Game, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Sergio Mendes, Carlos Santana, The Pussycat Dolls, Busta Rhymes and the Black Eyed Peas, and Fergie. Still no clue?

The work of this rapper and producer helped steer the Black Eyed Peas, one of the most intriguing acts in hip-hop, and later made them one of the most popular acts on the charts. He is better known by his stage name — will.i.am! Not only have they sold millions of albums worldwide but have also won three Grammy awards and have been nominated for 10 total. He also has his own label called will.i.am music group which has enabled him to work closely with a wide variety of very talented and well-known artists.

The story goes that while William was very proud of his name, he wanted a moniker that would relate to the reality that his talent and potential was unique from so many others in a very competitive business.  Therefore, he merely made a very positive statement of his self-esteem and pride by strategically inserting a couple of common periods within his highly regarded birth name.

William became will.i.am.

A very simplistic, creative decision that has certainly served him well. In that same vein his world renowned group chose their popular name because “Black Eyed Peas” are food for the soul. They felt they were too.

Creativity doesn’t have to be overwhelming, expensive, or complex. Sometimes, “simple” does the job!

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Big Changes are Coming! Grab a Seat! Buckle Up! Hang on Tight!

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Keep your eyes peeled during future trips to the mall. The landscape during that trip is about to change drastically according to Wall Street watchdogs.

And we’re not talking about small Ma and Pa operations that can’t compete with the big boys in today’s cut-throat business environment. We’re talking about many iconic U.S. companies that you’ve known for decades. They may very well not exist at the end of 2008! Not all will go out of business. Some may simply be auctioned off in pieces. Others may be bought. Others will simply vanish.

And don’t forget … these aren’t unsubstantiated predictions pulled from a blogger’s crystal ball. These forecasts come to us from 24/7 Wall St. … a Delaware corporation set up to run a financial news and opinion operation with content delivered over the Internet to readers thoughout North America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. They arrive at their conclusions after a great deal of research, review of historical bios, and educated projections of coming events.

I fear we’ve passed the shock threshold as a result of seeing so many powerful icons in so many industries fall by the wayside. We can’t afford to do that. Review some of the following major names and brands to appreciate the changes we can expect in the near future and then read ahead for more details on each. Hopefully the demise of these once unstoppable organizations will entice you to examine your own business, possible need for change, and current strategies designed for future success.

K-Mart, Sears, Eckerd Pharmacy, Circuit City, Ford Motor Co., Sprint, Cingular, Yahoo, CompUSA, Quest, Bombay Co., Gateway, Old Navy, Motorola, XM Satellite Radio, Citigroup and others.

K-Mart
We’ve been predicting this one for quite some time now. K-Mart is one of the two big brands at Sears Holdings. They’ve certainly tumbled from their once-lofty position as the nation’s #2 retailer. Based on same store sales for last year, they are the least successful of the Sears/K-Mart retail team. Spending to promote both retail operations may cost more that the holding company can afford. It certainly makes sense to kill off the K-Mart name and re-label all of the stores as Sears.

Sears Holdings
Here’s the other half of that once-powerful retail team. Sears was once the #1 U.S. retailer but has recently reported a string of bad earnings. Recent reports indicate that Sears leadership may spin-off the company’s real estate and break the firm into several operating units, each of which would have more operating autonomy. The CEO has been pushed out in favor of a “temp.” That sounds like the prelude to an auction.

Eckerd Pharmacy
With over 1,500 stores across the country, Eckerd Pharmacy served as the principal drug chain in several states until the nearly 110-year-old chain was acquired by Rite-Aid Pharmacy in June. Rite-Aid has since converted all Eckerd stores to Rite-Aid stores.

Dodge
Dodge is part of the Chrysler company which was recently bought out by private equity firm Cerberus. Chrysler management has already said that the company has too many brands and too many dealers. Dodge vehicles will probably be re-branded as Chrysler and Dodge will disappear. Other announced car exits include the Dodge Caravan, Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Crossfire sports car, Dodge Magnum and the PT Cruiser convertible.

Ford Motor Co.
There was a time when no one would have believed this one. However, Ford has a market cap of $13 billion against annual sales of $173 billion. If sales continue to fall, cuts won’t make up the difference forever. The Ford family, which has de facto control of the company, will have to look at selling the car operations to a large Asian or European auto company, allowing for a consolidation of production, marketing and R&D. Bottom line — billions of dollars in annual savings.

Circuit City
Here’s another one we’ve been predicting for some time now. Circuit City has been synonymous with electronics retail, but companies like Best Buy and Wal-Mart have brought too much marketing muscle and wholesale buying power to the industry. Outside investors are struggling to “improve shareholder value.” That means the chain will probably be sold.

Sprint
Sprint should never have merged with NexTel, but it is a little too late for that to be fixed now. It traded above $23 about a year ago and recently fell to close to $8. While AT&T and Verizon post enviable wireless numbers, Sprint struggles to keep current subscribers. Sprint is cutting bodies, but Wall St. has no confidence that fewer people and these modest savings will turn around the company.

Cingular
When AT&T acquired BellSouth in December of 2006, it also heralded the end to Cingular. Cingular also came under AT&T with this acquisition, and its brand was eventually weeded out from AT&T during the acquisition transition that ended in June.

Yahoo!
Yahoo! was not going to make it as a standalone, especially after Q4 earnings. There has been speculation that the company might be sold to Microsoft. If that happens, note that Microsoft is not generous about letting other brands have the limelight. Microsoft could take out 3,000 or 4,000 people and add as much as $100 million in operating income per quarter. Yahoo!’s brand will last while the e-mail and instant message operations are integrated, but soon enough it will all be MSN.

Old Navy
Old Navy is one of the Gap’s three brands and is currently pulling down overall sales at the big clothing company. With a little over one thousand outlets, Old Navy will struggle to maintain the costs of separate buying, marketing, and management costs. It may not be worth it. Watch closely because it may not be long before Old Navy locations may just become Gap stores.

Motorola
Motorola is still likely to sell its large handset unit to someone. That division is simply losing too much money, and it’s dragging the company under. As Motorola’s stock price drops, so does the value of its handset operation. Look for that Motorola phone to be called an LG handset sometime next year.

XM Satellite Radio
Seems as though XM Satellite Radio just arrived on the scene, and now they’ll disappear either in a merger with Sirius because without a merger, XM may not make it. The company has over $1.2 billion in long-term debt. Look for the XM brand to disappear a few months after the merger is complete.

Citigroup
With a recession and more financial company write-offs coming, Citi will have to get smaller by selling one or two of its valuable businesses. Its consumer units could be worth more on their own. This entire industry is volatile at the moment. Things are getting worse rather than better and you can expect anything to happen at any moment.

Bombay Company
After the holidays, it’s bye-bye Bombay. This furniture and home accessories retailer has been around since 1978 but officially filed for bankruptcy in September of 2007. They have been sold to Gordon Brothers/Hilco.

Gateway
Remember when Gateway was considered a peer of both Dell and Compaq? In 1993, Gateway was in the Fortune 500 but was recently bought by Taiwan PC firm Acer. It doesn’t make sense to maintain both brands as the costs are simply too high. Starting soon you will be buying an Acer PC online or at your electronics retailer.

CompUSA
The second richest man in the world, Carlos Slim of Mexico, turned a multi-billion dollar investment into zero dollars in just eight years. The 20-year-old consumer electronics retailer had closed its doors due to financial difficulties amid tough competition from retailers like Best Buy.

Qwest
Remember the break-up of the old AT&T? Quest is the last of the Baby Bells still standing from historic move. Although it’s the dominant phone company in 14 states, its shares are falling fast, it has no wireless operations, and simply doesn’t have the balance sheet to upgrade all of its infrastructure to fiber like Verizon is doing.

Vonage
Vonage almost invented VoIP. It certainly made it popular. They lost their “first mover” advantage when cable companies began to market the service to existing customers. Look for one of the large cable companies to take over the Vonage customer list and let the brand disappear in the very near future.

Levitz
This 97-year-old furniture chain, once one of the largest in the U.S., recently began closing its 76 stores after filing for bankruptcy for the third (and final) time in 10 years.

E*Trade
While their famous competitors have disappeared as a result of mergers, E*Trade has survived in a discount brokerage business thus far. Although they claim they don’t want to sell out, the firm’s $12 billion in home equity loan exposure may very well make staying independent impossible.

Countrywide
It once seemed as though Countrywide had an operation on almost every street corner. While they were known to give almost anyone a home loan, they weren’t so generous when foreclosure time came around. Bank of America is buying Countrywide. Due to Countrywide’s excessive negative baggage and very poor image, Bank of America will be wise to quickly put its name on all of the Countrywide branches.

NetBank
Known as one of the first Internet banks, NetBank has closed its doors after just 10 years of existence. After a couple of years of deficiency problems, NetBank restructured which eventually led to its demise this year.

So how was your week? Feeling sorry for the above companies but confident that you can avoid the same fate? Do you boast longevity, great sales history, competitive strategy or a great track record? So did most of those mentioned above. You might think about bench-marking, strategizing, training, continuous improvement and necessary change, and even that guarantees nothing in today chaotic business environment.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

A Culture of Customer Service

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In October of last year, I traveled to Nashville to facilitate a Leadership Boot Camp for the good folks at Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. Their world headquarters is located directly across the street from Vanderbilt University, a few blocks from fabled Music Row and, luckily for me, right next door to the exquisite Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. In an earlier blog feature, Creativity Reigns Again, I shared both my delight and astonishment at the level of creativity I discovered upon my arrival at this marbled palace in the heart of Music City.

Last week, I returned to Nashville for another Leadership Boot Camp with managers, supervisors, and Black Belts at Caterpillar Financial. In the spirit of Boot Camp vernacular, I was once again billeted at the Loews Vanderbilt. Although I again savored obvious creativity at every turn, I couldn’t help but notice another simplistic characteristic of their thriving culture — exceptional customer service.

Due to our ever-increasing requests for customer service training and keynotes, I’m always in search of good and bad examples to share with our clients. I found a number of solid examples during this trip but two particular instances, although both very basic, really impressed me.

  1. I arrived on Sunday evening and checked in at a very busy front desk manned by a number of busy but friendly staff members. It snowed all day Monday. Returning to the front desk Monday evening to drop off some mail after my training session, one of the front desk employees casually asked something like: “How are you today?” I replied with a smile and said something like: “Fine, thanks, although I’m a little chilly after that snow.” Typical small talk on my part followed by a shocking comment from the young lady behind the desk. She took my mail, smiled and said: “Today’s snow was simply our way of making you feel more at home with weather conditions like you have in Michigan!” I laughed, thanked her and headed to dinner. However, I must admit I was dumbfounded by her remark. Based on our short interaction at the desk she had no way of knowing I was from Michigan. She obviously had to be one of those at the desk the night before when I checked in and heard my conversation about the weather. That’s paying attention to detail, great listening skills, and better memory than I have. To remember those details the following day is remarkable in my eyes. That employee went above and beyond the call of duty to make a customer feel special. I was very impressed.
  2. Monday morning I left the hotel with a small suitcase containing props for my program. One of the lobby staff smiled, opened the door for me, and asked if he could get me a cab. I thanked him and explained that I was simply walking next door to Caterpillar for a training session. Again, typical small talk. When I returned at the end of the day, that young man was not on duty. Tuesday morning, same routine, same young man, different greeting. This time he smiled, open the door for me, and said, “Another day of training, eh? Keep ’em focused!” I laughed, thanked him, promised I would keep ’em focused, and headed off for another day — amazed and impressed! How many customers do you think that young man sees during the course of a typical work day? Here’s another example of great listening skills, great retention and the utilization of both to impress a customer while making him feel special.

Coincidence? I think not. Far too much evidence to the contrary. However, how do you train someone to react in such a powerful fashion? I don’t think role play can take all the credit, and I doubt if classroom experience alone can have that kind of an impact. Based on what I’ve seen of this organization, I would have to guess it has something to do with the ability to choose the right people, proper training, clear and strong expectations, emphasis on pride, consistent accountability, frequent feedback, and suitable recognition and rewards. Put it all together and you once again arrive at the importance of a strong, productive culture. Just an assumption on my part but these behaviors are very much representative of what I’ve seen throughout this organization.

I wouldn’t describe either of these instances as unbelievable … in fact both took only a moment and were far from complex. However, you must admit that either or both could be considered unique and impressive. Trite? Maybe. Convincing? No doubt! Nevertheless, this is one customer who was impressed, who has shared these positive impressions with others, and who will return to Loews Vanderbilt Hotel as a result of what I consider to be superb customer service. That’s the definition of a raving fan.

Customer service doesn’t have to be expensive, complex, or difficult. Make it an integral part of your organizational culture! Train for it! Expect it! Support it! Inspect it! Discuss it! Reward it! Live it! Breathe it! Reap the benefits!

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.